Trigger Warning: This chapter includes heavy violence and themes of sexual harassment.

Buddy walked out of the room with Lillian in one arm and his bag in his injured hand with Violet following in her WatchDog get up. Apple tailed the three of them as Winston hadn't returned to them.

They couldn't wait for him. Winston was innocent in this shit show and if anything he looked to be the victim.

He couldn't believe Evelyn would actually pull something as stupid as that stunt- but it was a calculated risk made by someone who actually wanted to watch the world burn. What her end goal was he couldn't say, nor did he care. Buddy only knew that they had to get out before it was too late.

And as bad as things looked, he knew things could have been worse. Unlike the last time he wanted to run, Violet was actually open to the coward's way out.

Nomansian Island was currently their only option, and that wasn't even a permanent solution.

Getting to the garage level of The Eighth Wonder, Buddy's blood went cold as the doors opened to reveal the base commander standing in wait.

Of course the colonel heard the news. The man likely got the order to detain him before he had gotten dressed.

"Colonel."

"Dr. Pine, I hope you weren't planning on leaving," he mused as he glanced over the bag in Buddy's hand.

"What? Oh, heh, of, uh, of course not," Buddy lied as he stepped out of the elevator and began to sidestep the commander. "I was just going to trade this bag out actually."

"Oh good, good. Because I'd hate for you to miss your tour."

"Yeah, no, I would not want to miss that for the world," Buddy said as he continued to walk towards his aircraft, not daring to turn his back on the military man.

"I didn't think you would. Especially being a free agent and all now."

Buddy and Violet both stopped in their tracks at the statement. Violet dropped her bag and took on a defensive stance, readying her shields but Buddy was lowering his guard.

"I'm not sure I'd call my handlers demise a job opportunity."

"Oh but it is, Dr. Pine. I meant what I said before. You'd be an asset to The Eighth Wonder!"

"I'm pretty sure I'm more of a liability given the amount death threats I receive on the daily."

The colonel opened his mouth as the elevator doors opened again and Winston ran out the second he could slip through the doors.

"Oh thank goodness you are both still here, and Commander Griffin. I- I don't know what we are supposed to do at a time like this, but we need to get to Mirage- there are a few supers who are going ballistic!"

"Fuck that."

"But Buddy!"

"Hell no. Your sister just ignited a goddamn civil war, there is no way in hell I'm putting myself in jeopardy there. I'm sorry, Win, I really am, but-"

"You're not going to let people hurt that nice agent lady are you?"

Buddy froze at the words from Lillian's mouth. Looking down at her, Buddy felt an irritating sensation swell in his stomach.

It was responsibility. He had no reason to feel responsible for Mirage or any of this mess, but he did.

Turning his head to Violet, he wished he could make out her expression underneath the mask but he couldn't imagine her response being anything other than her typical 'we need to help' bravado.

"...What supers?"

"Right now it's Blast-Off, Capstone, and The Ox. There's another few supers in the region, but it seems like some of them are actually trying to keep the peace."

"Of course that wrist snapper is there," Buddy sighed as he set Lillian and his bag down before kneeling down and nodded to Winston's direct.

"I need you to stay with Winston while we go save the nice agent lady."

"But I can help!"

"I'm sure you could, but the spacemen might see you, and I'd feel a whole lot better if I knew that they didn't know where you were."

The child clearly wanted to argue, but she didn't have any ammunition to bring to the table. With a defeated huff, she walked back to Winston's side and Buddy rose to his full height again.

"Any chance I can get an escort into the airspace?"

The colonel raised an eyebrow at the question before nodding. "I'll have a team scambled out in fifteen mikes."

The courtesy was acknowledged with a slight bow of his head and Buddy motioned for his jet again, picking up the pace. Violet followed in suit, and the pair boarded his aircraft.

Once inside, Violet removed her helmet and watched as Buddy fired up the engines.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? We are going to help out Mirage."

"... I'm really proud of you Buddy,"

"Please don't-"

"But this is not what I wanted."

The ginger man whipped his head back to her and stared at her, bewildered by the words.

"Come again?"

"We should be running. I think we should get you and Lillian to Nomansia and come up with an actual plan."

"... Fucking hell."

He was frustrated, to say the least. The one time he could have been a selfish prick and not be condemned for it he stepped up to be a bigger man. Looking back out the windshield, Buddy took in the sight of Winston and Lillian waving them off before he continued to go through the take off procedures.

"Too late now."

Violet sighed and moved to the co-pilot chair as the landing pad beneath them began to raise them up.

"When did you become a good guy? Better yet, when did you become good with kids?"

"I don't know about the good guy bit, the NSA is the only thing keeping a needle out of my arm you know. As for the kid... don't expect me to make a habit out of it, but she did throw a punch for me so she's alright I guess " he muttered as he looked the navigation screen. "We'll be there in a half hour, not sure if anything worth saving will be left."

…

Today was not the day to wear stilettos Mirage confirmed while she staggered as the building took another hit. She put out the evacuation order and requested military aid but that help was delayed as officials did not know what they were supposed to do with the supers.

So far, it was only at the capital that supers were retaliating to the news that Evelyn broke. Five supers were now on a warpath.

There was Blast-Off, who was more or less a pyromancer. Capstone had telekinesis, Maestro was just The Phylange on steroids. There was also Calypso who had the ability to control the weather and then there was The Ox.

They had just released him from a mindwipe too.

"Ma'am, what do we do?!"

Her green eyes glanced over what staffers she had with her. It was naive for anyone to think that the crimes of the NSA would never catch up to them. She just wished that they hadn't already cleaned house of all the folks who actually deserved to be in the crumbling building.

"Get to the service exit, stay low and remove anything that makes you look like an agent," she said, keeping watch as her subordinates removed their earpieces, badges, and articles of clothing that made them look too official.

The small group began to move again when the ceiling caved in behind them from a car crashing through. Her car to be exact.

"There she is!" Capstone called out to the others as he peered through the hole. "There is a whole slew of them here too!"

Mirage cursed and told the rest of the group to run when the windows were shattered by Maestro's voice. All Mirage and the others could do was cover their ears as the man threatened to turn them all deaf.

"I think it's time we washed out the scum, don't you boys?" Calypso called as she hovered above, summoning storm clouds and hurricane-force winds.

Rain pelted down on them and Mirage was certain that this was the end of the line for her until she saw an aircraft heading towards them.

Surely it couldn't be?

…

"Well, this isn't looking good," Buddy started as he switched the aircraft to hover mode and went to the belly of the ship.

"Dangit. I really liked Calypso too," Violet muttered as she picked up her helmet again and turned to make her grand entrance but stopped to see Buddy stripping down to his boxers. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not going to be able to get into my suit with this damn cast on, can you break it?"

"Buddy you're not going in there!"

"You're right, I'm not. You are, after I lead those assholes away," Buddy said as he knelt down and opened up a crawl space that held a modified super suit of his. It was exactly the same as his old one, just without the cape. He really didn't want to risk making the same mistake twice.

"You can't!"

"Sorry Parr, but this is our best option unless you want to murder some supers," Buddy argued as he began to pull on the suit, stopping at the waist before he went for the rocket boots.

"I don't have to murder them, I just have to beat them! Contain them while you pull everyone out!"

"That's not gonna fly."

"But-"

"I'll admit, you are the better fighter. You've proven that on many occasions, but there are a few things wrong with that play in your head. First being that these sups are having a bad day and want to take it out on the people who they feel are responsible," Buddy began as he double-checked the power cells on his boots before pulling them on.

"Secondly, they are in a heightened state of emotions. And emotions make people do stupid things but your lot becomes all the more dangerous."

"What you're suggesting to do is stupid!"

"And they could actually do a real number on you, Parr," Buddy continued, ignoring Violet's side of the argument. "I don't know if they are looking for blood or for answers, but they aren't fooling around. Don't get me wrong, I know you could take any one of them in a fight, no contest, but I know your limits. Anything more than three, depending on who, is a breaking point."

"And you think you can handle them?!" Violet asked infuriated. "God, are you really going to let your ego get you killed?"

"I'm not going to fight them, and I don't plan on dying today. I'm just doing this to buy time. There is no one else that can win their attention like I can," he said as he held out his casted up arm again. "Once you get Mirage and some folks in the clear you can prove me wrong about how many supers you can take."

Violet turned her head away as she clenched her fists tight in denial. She made a force field small enough to slip through the space between his cast and his skin and bubbled it out, breaking the plaster's hold.

Buddy bit back a whine of pain but there was no hiding the pained expression on his face. He kept his gaze away from Violet's face as he slipped on the rest of his suit. Putting the gauntlets on he knew it was going to do nothing but irritate his injury but at least the gloves offered some stability.

Opening the side door, Buddy took in a deep breath, witnessing the destruction caused by beings that had natural gifts that he could only hope to imitate. It was a shame that Lillian couldn't assist him in this, but he was going to keep his word on this being a stunt show rather than a death wish. Lead the band of angry supers away and live to tell the tale.

"I wish I could tell you where I plan on leading them, but I imagine that I'll pick up some more attention while I'm out there," he said as he placed his mask on. There was no need to hide his face, but he still liked the fashion statement.

"You're being an idiot, Buddy."

"Don't fly in until I lead them away. Just tell me when you get Mirage out and I'll let you know where I end up."

Violet reached out to take his hand, to tell him to be careful and tell him other things he already knew but he was already one foot out of the jet and another in his grave.

…

Evelyn could not pry her eyes from the television in her hotel room even though she could see the chaos from the window.

It was just so beautiful.

The only thing that would have made this moment sweeter was if her brother was in view, or in the room with her.

He was older by three minutes and eleven seconds, but he was still a child compared to her. Still in love supers, and still dumb enough to trust everyone he came into contact with.

Everyone but her.

She recalled when he visited her when probation was offered to her. He had pleaded against her release. Not even the NSA had made an appearance for the court, but he did.

"I get that you are upset, I do, but you know in the eyes of the law there are some major differences!"

"You're right. Your friend has a much higher kill count than I do. What's the score… Oh yeah, zero to 30-something? Although that's only focused on your precious heroes. An estimated 45 civilians died thanks to his robot invasion, a confirmed 28 soldiers lost their lives-"

"Your actions killed five people and threatened to terrorize the entire world!"

"And he successfully terrorized American citizens- guess which one the public has a bigger issue with. Which is why I've made the case to convert my sentence to public service just like your 'Good Buddy'.

"I'll fight that appeal with everything at my disposal and you know why!? Because I look at Buddy and I see him actually trying to change!"

"A luxury that his victims don't have but you know, I do have to admire his original game plan. He had the right idea, but man, that execution was all wrong."

Well, imagine her surprise when she had learned that he had been sleeping with the new director of the NSA, who was once in bed with the man formerly known as Syndrome. She still couldn't decide if that man was a genius for managing to lead so many supers to their own doom, or an idiot for wanting to play hero in the first place.

"I'm on the scene Jeff, and things are looking darker by the minute for those still inside the NSA," reported the blonde news correspondent, Cindy Lapore. "So far, the supers who have reacted to the reports of sanctioned assassinations have only directed their fury upon the Headquarters of the National Supers Agency, but we are getting word that outrage is being sparked across the rest of the country."

Oh yes, the supers were pissed. Evelyn wasn't sure who she should be rooting for, but regardless of who came out on top everyone but her lost. She was half tempted to call Helen to see if her 'holier-than-thou demeanor had been put to rest with the knowledge that her children were at one point in time one false step away from being on the chopping block.

"Hold on Jeff, it appears that another super is on their way to attack."

Evelyn wished she had some popcorn to enjoy the show, but the minibar would have to do.

"We're not sure who's suit that is just yet, but they aren't a frequent flyer in these parts."

Eventually, the supers would start filing in line to attack their local NSA chapter, but she was fine with the idea of the head of the snake getting chopped before the rest of the body.

"Wait, that isn't a super-"

She didn't expect any villains to get in on the action, but the more the merrier.

"It's- it's Syndrome? Yes, Yes we can confirm that Syndrome, or Buddy Pine as we best know him, is on the scene."

What the hell is he doing?

"We aren't sure what he is doing here, but for viewers who are unfamiliar with the man, Mr. Pine was responsible for the murder of approximately 40 supers some years back in a plot to remove supers. He was believed to be dead, but was recently discovered to be alive and placed into NSA custody for his crimes-"

Maybe he was going to get his own revenge?

"Hey there supers! How about taking on someone above your class?" the figure in the sky shouted though it was barely audible through the tv.

"It can't be- Forgive me Jeff, but it appears that Mr. Pine is leading the supers away from the NSA."

"WHAT?!" Evelyn shouted as she rose from her chair and rushed to the television screen as though she could change the script.

"NO!"

"YES! That is exactly what Mr. Pine, or should we say Syndrome is doing. He is leading the supers out of the area! It appears that this is a rescue attempt facilitated by Syndrome and WatchDog!"

Evelyn shook her head and moved to the window to see the scene for herself. Her beautiful mess was getting ruined by the one person who the public hated more than her.

…

Landing the aircraft on the NSA's helipad, WatchDog exited the aircraft to meet the small batch of stranded survivors, Mirage leading the pack.

"Was that-"

"Yes," came the synthetic voice of WatchDog. "Is there anyone else left inside?"

"No, we're all that's left," Mirage confirmed before searching the sky for Buddy. "Thank you."

"It wasn't my idea to come here."

Mirage blinked at the confession. She couldn't say if she was surprised at the bluntness or that Violet wasn't the one who suggested to help. The older woman opened her mouth to ask who took on the mission but the rooftop doors busted open, revealing The Ox.

"Syndrome! Where is Syndrome?!"

"Can you fly this thing?"

Mirage shook her head quickly as she smoothed out her hair.

"Wait in the aircraft while I take care of this real quick," the synthetic voice of growled as they moved past the group of agents and office workers to march to The Ox's position.

"Aha! If it isn't Syndrome's guard dog! Where is your master, WatchDog? I wonder which one of you would be more hopeless without the other- you without someone to hold your leash or him without you in his lap!"

The response from WatchDog was swift. The Ox didn't know how it happened, but one moment his hands were fine and the next he could feel the bones in his hands being crushed. Consumed by the pain, The Ox didn't see the follow-up of WatchDog's fist colliding with his face, knocking him out cold.

Violet didn't like to jump the gun when it came to using her force fields, but she felt the need to pay The Ox back for what he had done to Buddy. Even if he didn't remember it.

Turning on her heel, she quickly made her way back to the jet where a thankful audience waited to be transported to a safe location.

"Where can I drop you off," WatchDog asked as the door was sealed shut.

"As far as we can get from here," Mirage stated as she took the co-pilot chair and stared out the windshield. "I can't believe you let him go out in that suit."

"I didn't. He gave a very compelling argument," she lied. "Where can I take you so I can get back to him?"

"Oh. Right, sorry. Just take us as close as you can to congress."

…

Buddy had managed to keep a fair distance between himself and the supers he had antagonized, but the hardest part was navigating around Calypso's storms.

He kept low to the ground to best avoid the lightning strikes knowing that one hit from a bolt would end the game. Small twisters were also in the mix, threatening to tear him up and spit him out if he wasn't aware of his surroundings.

The collateral damage so far was pretty extensive, but things could have been worse. He had to move them out to a less populated area if only

Unfortunately, that was their goal as well.

Turning down a street, Buddy raced for the warehouse district, hoping to find an abandoned lot or vacant facility to immobilize at least one of the supers on his tail. Looking over his shoulder, he could see Calypso, Capstone, and Maestro on his tail. But where had the pyro gone?

As soon as he was finished asking that same question a few fiery blasts from a rooftop were sent his way. Buddy weaved through them for the most part save for getting a few singes, but the sweltering heat was making his escape more difficult.

"Buddy, the NSA agents are safe- where are you?" Violet asked in the comm link.

"Oh thank god, I'm just outside of-"

Buddy stopped his speech as he heard glass shatter. Turning his attention to the direction of the sound, he was too late to avoid the vine that caught his ankle.

Thrown to the ground, Buddy's earpiece was dislodged from his ear as his head hit the pavement. Knocked unconscious, his body was dragged from the street and out of sight into a closed-down glass factory.

...

Violet cursed. Buddy was in trouble. If he wasn't already dead.

Mirage stood nearby, on a payphone trying to get ahead of the fiasco with the head of the NSA PR team.

"I don't know how! But we need to address everything! No, no, no. Don't make the statement yourself, get someone the supers can trust to give all the details of the case! Oh, you don't know who? Let me rattle off a few ideas: Winston, The Speedster, Lady Luck, Leviathan- literally anyone who has been on a magazine cover this past year!"

"I have to find Buddy," WatchDog interrupted and Mirage pulled the payphone away from her ear and delivered a nervous glance.

"What about us?"

"I don't think you're the main objective anymore," Violet replied coldly, though every sentence from the robotic voice sounded harsh. Their attention was turned away from each other and to a television sitting in the storefront window across from them.

"You are hearing it from News 12 first, and we believe that Syndrome has been caught by some of the supers as we have lost sight of Syndrome and the supers."

"For those of you just tuning in, the events of the day have been chaotic and we don't know what to make of the information at this time. A bombshell report shows that the NSA was responsible for dozens if not maybe upwards of hundreds of super deaths for population control and fear of retaliation. A few supers have responded to this with what appeared to be the intention of destroying the NSA. We still aren't sure what Mr. Pine was up to when he arrived on the scene, but he appeared to have intentionally led the supers away from the NSA so that WatchDog could rescue those inside. Who are we supposed to be rooting for here Cindy?" the male news anchor asked and Cindy shook her head while driving the van as the camera panned from the road to her.

"Not sure Jeff and that isn't my place to say, but I would say we are looking at the thin line of justice and revenge."

Mirage turned to address WatchDog but found the space to be empty. She could only assume that Violet had left, flying off in search of Buddy.

…

Evelyn laughed at the speculation.

"Oh Cindy, how right you are," Evelyn mused as she leaned back into her seat again with a small bottle of vodka in hand, hopeful that the whole world would get to see some unadulterated violence from the supers. Though property damage did sell better to politicians, she wanted to win the hearts and minds of the general public, and what better way was there than with a martyr?

Buddy Pine wouldn't be her first pick for a sympathetic figure, but she believed that the media could spin it up just right depending on how vindictive the supers got.

…

…

…

…

...

"You're not lighting a fire in here," warned an older woman that Buddy heard in the darkness.

"Like hell I can't! This man deserves to burn! Literally and figuratively!" hissed the voice of Blast-Off.

"As much as I agree with you, B, Syndrome has a lot to answer for. Besides, burning him alive would be too quick for my liking," replied the voice Buddy recognized but couldn't put a name to. "Oh, would you look at that, I do believe our favorite demagogue is waking up."

Buddy winced as he raised his head to take in his current circumstances. There were more supers than what he had started with. In addition to the four he had led astray, there were three more supers thrown into the mix, each one more popular than the last. Joining them was Mother Nature, an old witch who had powers to turn common weeds into weapons. God, he remembered watching her infomercials on the environment in between Saturday morning cartoons.

Sibyl was a newly made fan favorite in the area. The woman could see into multiple potential futures, but it wasn't her ability to see what could be that made her famous but her feminist agenda. The Future is Female posters could be found in every rebellious teenage girl's room in the West.

Then there was the telekinesis-wielding wonder boy from California, Leviathan.

Fuck.

It wasn't his powers that set Buddy on edge, but rather their relationship with one another. The GQ model was nearly as much of a narcissist as him, and the little shit even commended him for 'weeding out the weak' supers to bring about the new era. Oh yeah, Leviathan was a special breed of fucked up, but what really made this reunion awful was that the last time they were in the same room together they had a small spat.

And by small spat, Buddy had given the prick a shiner that could have doubled as his mask when he broke his nose after bragging about his favorite super exploit, Invisigirl.

"Buddy, you have not had sex until you did it with a chick that goes invisible. God damn do I miss that little slut! I got no clue where she ran off to, but I'd like to think she's spending her days walking around naked and making guys think they had sex with a ghost. Ugh, the things I would do to that pussy if I saw it again! Haha, it's funny though, cause she's invisible."

Buddy got the picture alright. While he had been aware of Violet's brief sexual encounter with him, she never gave the details and he never asked for them. What he did know was Violet and her powers, and she did not care to be unseen during intercourse. Foreplay, maybe, but she loathed being invisible during sex. And that was why. Because men, himself included at times, were fucking creeps.

The NSA wiped that memory from Leviathan, but some reporter managed to win a Pulitzer for that single snapshot and the fabricated story behind it. Since that photo was printed, Leviathan had taken every opportunity to take a shot at him, especially with the use of the press, but he always made snide remarks of what he'd like to do if they were to meet up in a dark alley.

Fuck.

Buddy put his fists out to bring out his weapon systems, but his gauntlets were gone, as we're his rocket boots.

Fuck!

"Did you have fun playing pretend?" Leviathan grinned as he broke the semi-circle by advancing upon the stranded man.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

Reaching for his earpiece, Buddy found that it was missing as well. Clambering to his feet Buddy looked for anything to help him. The location of his stashed gear, a heavy pipe, or a way out, but there was nothing.

"Fuck," Buddy said softly as he put his back against the wall.

"Fuck indeed, Buttercup!" Leviathan beamed as he slammed an open palm to the wall beside Buddy's head. Seeing the defenseless villain flinch made the hero laugh.

"Not so tough without your toys or your guard dog, are you? Well. That is rich. Not as rich as you, but still pretty rich," Leviathan chuckled as he leaned in close enough to kiss him. "Speaking of that mongrel, Sib, sweetie, how long we got until WatchDog turns up?"

"Hard to say. Average time as of this moment seems to be twenty minutes," the tan woman in the baby blue suit replied.

"Wow! That's longer than I thought. Sounds like your pooch isn't doing so well these days, Buddy ol' pal! Should we put them down for you? I'm sure we could make it real quick."

Buddy clenched his jaw at the threat and met Leviathan's eyes to dish a response back but all that came from his mouth was the air that was knocked out of him by Leviathan's fist. He doubled over and was kneed to the head on the way down and crumpled on his side, still choosing to nurse the blow to his abdomen than the bloodied brow.

As Buddy gaped like a fish out of water, Leviathan eyed the elderly woman known as Mother Nature. She was the only one not dressed in super attire as her days as a super were long gone, but she did serve as a mentor to the younger generation.

"We're obviously not going to turn him into the NSA, but what's the game plan here, lady?"

"We interrogate him, as soon as he can breathe again," Mother Nature scolded as she approached the man responsible for the deaths of her acquaintances, some close enough she had considered to call them friends. "How long will that be, Sibyl?"

"About six minutes."

"Ugh, good job Lev, that just ate up a third of our time with him!" Calypso shouted. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd really rather not be here when WatchDog shows up."

"Well, it's not like we are going to let this bastard get out alive, right? Who says we have to let WatchDog survive either?" Leviathan suggested.

"Oh hell no, I'm not killing one of our own!" Calypso snapped back and Leviathan rolled his green eyes as he swept his sun-kissed locks back.

"How the hell do we even know if they are a super anyway? For all we know they could just be some punk wannabe like Syndrome here, or even better, a robot!"

"WatchDog isn't a robot," Blast-Off said as he put his arms behind his head, tugging at his red hood. "They sound like one, sure, but they don't make all that much noise when they walk around."

"Yo, Sib, settle this for us, is WatchDog a robot or what?" Leviathan asked as Maestro moved to hoist Buddy up to his feet.

"And how bad would it be if we killed both Syndrome and WatchDog?"

"Dammit guys, I can't be the lookout and answer your stupid questions too!"

"Then tell us the odds of taking WatchDog out of the picture," Mother Nature pressed as she clasped her hands in front of her. "Regardless of what lies underneath the mask, they appear to be loyal only to two forces. Syndrome and the NSA, which can no longer be trusted."

Buddy tried to regain his footing as the room began to debate on the possibility of an ambush. He wasn't lying when he told Violet she couldn't take on three supers alone without lethal force, but seven was overkill, especially if one could call the plays before she considered a move.

"Ugh, I mean, the odds seem to be in favor for the most part."

"What do you mean for the most part?" Blast-Off inquired.

"There's a lot of scenarios to run through, some of them not great for us, a few are very awful, but can I please just focus on when or even if WatchDog finds us? And for the record, I'm not for killing him."

"Aw, come on Sibyl! Don't tell us your Syn-lover too!" Maestro teased.

"If you are referring to my niche and mildly deranged fanbase," Buddy rasped, gaining the eyes of the group again. "They actually prefer to be called Synners."

Feeling some semblance of breath and courage in his system again, Buddy threw a left hook to Maestro's throat. It wasn't much but it did the job as the super released him to hold his own throat, choking painfully as he fell back. Buddy made a break for it and managed to get all of three feet before Mother Nature had a vine wrapped around his throat, dragging him back to the center of attention.

"Well, glad to see you've caught your breath again," Mother Nature said as she summoned the vine higher, forcing Buddy to stand on his toes if he didn't want to be strangled. She cast a glance at Maestro in frustration knowing that the man was going to be as helpful as a wet sock in a fight with WatchDog now. "Any change on our timeline?"

"Closer to ten minutes now."

"Well, that isn't any good. I imagine Syndrome could withhold information for that long," Mother Nature mused as she lifted him a little higher, the ground just out of reach for his feet.

"Not if I fry it out of him!" Blast-Off growled as he let his hands ignite, but Mother Nature was not one for heat.

"Blast-Off, Calypso, won't you two be dears and go distract the mutt?"

"Are you kidding me?! I'm not going to miss out on giving Syndrome what he deserves!" the fiery young man shouted before the old woman turned her gaze on the youth. He might have had the ability to create fire, but the woman had a look in her eye that could kill.

"Tsk, fine. Come on Cal, let's bring the dog on a wild goose chase…" the super muttered and the pair exited the warehouse.

"Now. How much time might that have bought us?"

"Maybe indefinitely if those two play their cards right, but we earned at least a half hour," the woman replied with her back turned not wanting to witness the violence.

"Well, it sounds like we are in business again. So what do you say, Syndrome, want to fill us in on what lies underneath the mask of WatchDog?"

Grabbing at the green rope that tightened around his throat with his good hand, Buddy scoffed at the request but he did flash a smile.

"I think I'd rather die."

…

"Jeff we are on the scene and while we do not have eyes on Syndrome we are seeing WatchDog join the fight against the supers!"

"What a killjoy," Evelyn groaned at the screen as she tossed the last mini bottle of alcohol behind her.

While being in prison for thirteen years should have made her as sober as a teetotal, the toilet hooch was harder hitting than the sample size top-shelf liquor provided by the hotel. What she would give for a decent drink.

She watched, disinterested in the battle between the three supers. There was some talk that WatchDog might not have been a super but instead a robot under control by Buddy Pine. That certainly made sense given his background.

It was looking in favor of the two other supers. Fire and the ability to create storms had a way of overpowering flight and super strength, or whatever the hell WatchDog's schtick was.

"Folks, we just saw WatchDog get thrown into the flour factory," the journalist announced making Evelyn roll her eyes. They just saw it, there was no need to explain that.

What the woman on screen did need was a chemist degree to tell the viewers that flour particles plus the smallest spark could create an explosive combustion. That information was not lost on Blast-Off however as the man threw in a fireball after WatchDog and the screen lit up like the Fourth of July.

'Game. Set. Match,' Evelyn thought as she reached for a bottle that didn't exist.

"WatchDog survived the explosion! Oh my, and, it's hard to say from here but it looks as though WatchDog lost their helmet! Jeff we are going in to get a better look!"

"Damn. Some people just don't know when to quit," Evelyn said as she watched the fight come to a close.

…

Blast-Off and Calypso exchanged victorious grins as they didn't see WatchDog rise from the flames. Before they could celebrate the win, a guttural scream broke out in the air. The pair turned around expecting to see WatchDog coming at them, but it was thin air.

Thin air that packed a hell of a punch for Blast-Off.

Once Blast-Off was out of the picture, Violet showed herself again by grabbing hold of the stunned storm bringer by the collar of her suit and brought her close.

"Where is he?!" Violet screamed

"H-holy shit. I-Invisigirl?! You're WatchDog!?"

In her outrage, Violet hadn't realized she was missing her helmet, but the loss of anonymity had only pissed her off more. Tightening her hold, Violet pulled back a fist.

"WHERE?!"

Calypso pointed out into the distance. Violet would have been skeptical had it not been for the sight of vines growing in such a toxic region. Shoving the heroine away, Violet took off. Landing on a building, she ran her hands over the soot-covered surface and applied the black carbon over her eyes to give some semblance of a mask around her eyes before taking off for the abandoned factory, not noticing the news van that tailed her.

...

"Calypso and Blast-Off are down, WatchDog is going to be here in five minutes so let's wrap this up," Sibyl urged moving from the window and to the semi-circle where Mother Nature still had Syndrome restrained, though it was hardly necessary as the man couldn't stand without the vines that held him up by his wrists as Capstone had dislocated one of his knee caps.

"Did you start the Super Rectification Act?" Leviathan asked as one hand was taking a fistful of the copper-toned hair and the other held back to deliver another punch to the man's already bloodied face, regardless of the answer he was looking for or not.

"I wasn't even old enough to vote when that shit came out, you stupid son of a bitch," Buddy mumbled. Leviathan bashed his cheek again and Maestro delivered a devastating blow to his liver. Falling forward, Buddy's entire system sought to collapse from the impact but it wasn't possible with Mother Nature keeping him up.

"Give us something to work with Syndrome and we'll be on our way to deal with the NSA," the older woman urged as a vine gently caressed the side of his face. "Don't you want to have some part in the dismantlement of an organization that took away your freedom to do as you please?"

Buddy had grown used to the taste of iron. He just had to wait a few more minutes. If he could survive Schmerzen then he could survive this. Spitting out some blood, Buddy offered a tired smile, revealing an empty space in his once overcrowded mouth.

"Per my contract, it is not within my authority to reveal information to non-essential personnel," Buddy replied tearfully before Maestro gave a couple of jabs to Buddy's kidney, an agonized grunt leaving his body.

Leviathan sighed heavily as he released Buddy's head of hair, letting his head drop. "A shame you aren't the real thing, and a bigger shame we couldn't have been friends, Buddy."

"... fuck… you," Buddy blubbered, unable to conceal his pain, but in his view, he had already won. Who cared if he bawled like a baby, he had earned the right to cry the minute his knee was forced out of place.

"Two minutes, pack it in and leave him for the paramedics," Sibyl shouted as she turned around to see Leviathan summoning a large chunk of broken glass from the ground. Her crystal eyes went wide with horror, not from the prospect of killing Syndrome, but the consequences she saw from it. "Don't!"

But it was too late. The jagged shard of glass was sent into his chest partially and Buddy released a sharp gasp.

"Damn, I meant to go for his heart, but ah well. He can drown in his own blood I guess."

"You idiot… you've killed us," Sibyl uttered as she moved to Leviathan and Syndrome, catching the man as Mother Nature released her hold on him. Setting him to the ground on his back, Sibyl looked over the Syndrome's chest wound and shook her head as she watched the white 'S' turn red, small bubbles breaking out around the open wound. "Not good. Oh, this is not good!"

"Are you serious Sib? This is the best day of my life! I got to be the man who avenged the victims of Syndrome!" Leviathan said, sending a nod to Maestro. "Though I guess you guys can take some of the credit as well."

Sibyl ignored the celebration to focus on the man in her arms. In a hundred different outcomes, there was only a sliver of a chance that the man would live to see tomorrow. Less of a chance that she and the others would all walk out alive. She moved her hand to Syndrome's throat to feel for a pulse. It was there, but faint.

One of the glass windows were blown out, and Sibyl knew that their time had run out.

Maestro, Mother Nature, and Capstone all stayed their ground at the arrival of WatchDog, but Leviathan had motioned closer to the black-clad figure in disbelief.

"I don't believe this," the man laughed, taking a good look at the face of WatchDog. It was a face he couldn't forget as it was one of his favorite notches in his belt. "Invisigirl? Is this where you've been hiding this whole time? Babe, that outfit is not doing you any favors."

Violet didn't even acknowledge the existence of the Leviathan, her eyes were only focused on the bloodied figure in Buddy's clothes, searching for a sign of life.

"Is he-?"

"Shit, sorry. I guess you are out of a job now, huh. Damn, had I known that this was your gig I would have eased up a little more, I mean, offense obviously isn't your position," Leviathan said as he took a step closer to the woman, not feeling the same level of fear that Sibyl was exhibiting. Seeing the tears well up in the eyes of Invisigirl stopped Leviathan in his tracks and he glanced back at his handiwork then to the female super again. "Nooo. I don't believe it… Were you two-?"

"He's still alive!" Sibyl called out, earning Violet's murderous eyes. "He's still alive but he needs to get to a hospital now! We can all just call it even for today, but just let her leave with Syndrome!"

Violet saw the olive branch, but she didn't even have time to take hold of it when Leviathan was wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"I just cannot believe you were fucking Syndrome! That is quite the kink you've developed. Why don't I put him out of his misery for you and we find a place to catch up?"

Violet stiffened seeing the glass inch out slightly, proving that there was indeed life left in Buddy as he curled into the arms of the seer, a whine escaping his lips at the broken glass tearing his flesh.

"I know that grief makes for great sex."

Buddy opened his eyes to meet his killers one last time. Rolling his head towards Leviathan he took a ragged breath, hoping to leave with something better than a pathetic death whimper. Something to make the smug bastard remember him, but he was left stunned by the sight of Violet without her helmet and tears streaming down from her soot-covered eyes.

He offered a smile and she gave one in return until Leviathan pulled the blood-painted glass out a little more, pulling another scream from the man as well.

Violet didn't dare push Leviathan away as the arm that once hung on her shoulder snaked down her side, tsking as he couldn't find her curves through the military gear but he was intrigued by the straps on the outfit.

"Had I known you had a thing for BDSM I could have filled that role. You must be deprived if you had to bark up that tree," he teased, kissing her cheek.

"Please don't," Buddy whispered and Leviathan grinned, believing that this was Syndrome begging not to be cuckold in his final moments of life. He wasn't pleased with the situation he had dragged Violet into, but he was thinking of her best chance of survival. He didn't miss how each of her fingers were painfully contorted and pointing in different directions. One digit aimed at each of the supers in the room. "Don't."

"Leviathan! STOP!" Sibyl begged with tears in her eyes as she placed a hand over the glass shard that Leviathan threatened to remove.

Violet's thumb relaxed as she slowly closed her fist. Holding her breath, she waited for Leviathan to obey the merciful plea knowing that a sudden movement from her could cause the

"Heh… sorry gang. Should I put it back where I found it?" he asked ready to send it back down but Violet opened her fist, fully expanding the four small force fields she had placed inside of Buddy's attackers.

…

Evelyn liked to think that she had a stronger stomach than most. She also liked to think that there was nothing a super could do to surprise her.

How wrong she was on both accounts.

As she and thousands of other Americans tuned in to the live reporting of the supers turning on the NSA, she never thought she'd see the day of supers killing supers. But that's what she saw.

It was quick, but it was that instant violence that made the woman lose the contents of her stomach. One second the news crew had several supers on camera in a warehouse and the next it was all confetti.

Red, chunky confetti.

Wiping the remnants of bile and alcohol from the side of her mouth, Evelyn eyed the screen again to see that the unmasked WatchDog left at least one survivor inside. While the whole afternoon she had been waiting to see Buddy Pine pay for spoiling her show she never thought that that awkward Parr daughter would be the one to steal the show.

The kid had grown, and she looked a mess, but there was no mistaking the brat. And now it looked like the whole world would remember the face too as she fled the crime scene with the former villain in tow.

"Well, this just got very interesting." And she wondered how super on super crimes would go down with the public.